The present disclosure broadly relates to the art of spring devices and, more particularly, to a fluid spring assembly having end members that can be quickly and easily repositioned relative to one another without the use of tools or instruments, as well as a method of adjusting the same.
The present novel concept finds particular application and use in association with vehicle suspension systems and will be shown and described herein with specific reference thereto. However, it is to be understood that the present novel concept is capable of broad use in a wide variety of applications and environments, such as machinery mounting applications, for example. As such, reference herein to specific applications and/or uses is merely exemplary and is not intended to be limiting.
Fluid spring assemblies using a compressed gas medium, such as air, for example, are well known and commonly used as components of vehicle suspension systems, as an example of one of the many uses and applications of such devices. Fluid spring assemblies are known to be constructed in a variety of configurations and arrangements, including those having convoluted bellows and those having rolling-lobe sleeves, for example. Typically, a fluid spring assembly that includes a convoluted bellows will also include opposing end members that are permanently secured thereto. As such, the end members of the convoluted bellows spring assembly are normally rotationally fixed relative to one another. Therefore, the desired positioning or alignment of any features or components on the opposing end members must normally be established by the manufacturer during assembly. This can lead to inefficiencies and increased costs and/or inventory levels where a variety of mounting configurations of a given model of fluid spring assembly are requested and/or used.
As compared with bellows-type assemblies, fluid spring assemblies that utilize rolling-lobe sleeves often have constructions that can be at least partially disassembled. One advantage of such arrangements is that same can be constructed in a manner that permits the upper end member and the lower end member or piston to be rotated or otherwise repositioned relative to one another. As a result, the fluid spring assemblies can be manufactured in a common orientation and later adjusted, such as by a customer or user, for example, to meet the orientational mounting requirements of the particular use or application.
As an example, a vehicle manufacturer may use the same basic fluid spring assembly on several different models of vehicle, but with each vehicle model having slightly different mounting alignment and/or orientation for the fluid spring assembly. One option in such situations, is for the vehicle manufacturer to procure and store a quantity of fluid suspension assemblies, such as permanently configured bellows-type assemblies, for each different mounting configuration. As an alternative, the vehicle manufacturer could procure and store a greater quantity of fluid suspension assemblies, such as rolling-lobe type assemblies, having a single alignment configuration. The alignment of the fluid spring assemblies can then be adjusted on a as needed or other basis.
One difficulty with such an approach, however, is that known fluid spring assemblies typically require some amount of disassembly to make the adjustments. This normally requires the use of tools and equipment. Additionally, significant time and effort are often required to reconfigure a quantity of fluid spring assemblies. This undesirably increases the costs associated with the use of such fluid spring assemblies. As such, it is believed desirable to develop fluid spring assemblies that capable of being quickly and easily realigned without the need for tools and/or other equipment.